Vulpix Tail 1: Growlithe Tail
by BraviaryGirl7
Summary: When I first met Flint, I didn't know what to think. But as time went on, and he helped me more and more, I found myself slowly falling in love with the kind-hearted Growlithe.-F Heatwave Shipping. Has nothing to do with my other fanfic or SnivyPro18's Team Eviolite characters, except the names of the characters. (And yes, I know Flint belongs to SunnySummer77.) Changed rating to T
1. Chapter 1: The Meeting

A Vulpix Tail 1: Flare and Flint

Me: Well, I did say I was working on new ideas. This fanfic will mostly be about romance. What, you thought all I could write about was friendship? Why did I decide to write this? Well, for one thing, I'm making a point. I can write a good story about any genre. Isn't that right guys?

Everyone: Yep!

Me: Oh, and none of the characters from Explorers of Light will appear in this fanfic. This one takes place in the world with humans AND Pokémon. And yes, the main character is a Vulpix. Oh, and my apologies to SnivyPro18 ,if you're reading this, for kind of… copying the names of two of your characters. I really liked the names, and thought they were perfect for these characters. Sorry. Anyhoo, hope you like this, please give it a chance and tell me what you think of it in a Review. I don't own Pokémon, so let's start the first chapter of… Vulpix Tail 1: Flare and Flint!

Chapter 1

(Flint's POV)

My name is Flint and I'm a Growlithe. And this is the story of how Flare and I met. At the time, I lived in a human city called Emerald City with my owner. It was a very happy life. But one day, I found something that changed my life forever.

The day started out like any other. I woke up in my 'doggie bed', had breakfast with my owner, and went for a walk around the city. I greeted each of my friends as I passed them.

"Morning, Flint."

"Good morning, Houndour."

"Morning, Flint."

"Good morning, Rattata."

"Morning, Flint."

"Good morning to you too, Poochyena."

We played for a couple hours, tag, hide-n-seek, and our favorite, the Biting Game. And in every game, Poochyena and I always tried to one-up each other. We were the best of friends, but also quite competitive rivals. We also did tug-of-war, an obstacle course in the city dump, and several hours of Truth-or-Dare. After we finished our normal routine, we noticed that it was already high-noon.

"Whoa, look at the time! I got stuff to do, I better head home."

"Yeah, me too."

"Same here."

I realized it was lunchtime, and heard my owner calling me.

"Yeah, I got to go, too. See you guys later!"

"Bye!"

I made my way back to the house, and went in through the doggie door. I made my way into the kitchen, and saw my food bowl, with _Flint_ written on the side, filled with Pokémon food. I ate it down to the last crumb; all that playing made me hungry. After I finished eating, I made my way back to the alley where my friends and I would always hang out, and found it almost empty. The only one there was Rattata.

"Hey, where is everyone, Rattata?"

"Oh, they both got too busy to come and play again, and asked me to tell you. And I'm busy, too so see ya!" And he scurried off.

"See ya. Hmm, what'll I do now? Ah, that's more like it!" I was eyeing a trash can that had fallen over, until I remembered what happened the last time I rolled in garbage.

(Flashback)

I walked through the doggie door, covered in garbage. My owner saw me and…

"Flint, have you been in the trash cans again?" I let out a whine. Afterwards, I ran all around the house, trying to escape the person trying to give me a bath…. And just ended up getting paw prints everywhere, and getting in even more trouble.

(End of Flashback)

I decided to stay away from the garbage this time. I backed away from the trash can, and started walking around town. I saw the berry stand, owned by a very nice person who always gave me a free berry if I visited him.

"Well heya, Flint." I barked in response. He tossed me an Oran Berry, which I caught in my mouth and ate. I barked happily to show it was good. He smiled and went back to his customers.

On my walk, I also passed the flower stand. I always liked how it smelled there. I sniffed a bouquet of roses for a second, and the moved on to the next part of town.

I passed by the restaurant, and did an old trick too classic to be cliché; the Dog Face. I got a half-finished loaf of bread and a cookie. Not too shabby.

Afterwards, I decided to walk outside the city, near the woods. I left the city and went a bit far from the entrance.

After walking for about ten minutes along the river, I noticed the sun had started to set and decided it was about time to head back home before my owner got worried. I turned around, but as soon as I did, I heard frantic splashing downstream. I rushed over to the sound, and saw what appeared to be someone drowning in the water!

I got close to the edge, and saw a thrashing bundle of red fur. Once I was close enough, I grabbed its neck and pulled it out of the water. The figure was revealed to be a Vulpix. It coughed and shook a bit. After a minute of shivering, it spoke. And I figured it to be a female.

"T-thank you. Thank you for saving me."

"My pleasure. Forgive me for asking, but how did you get in the river?"

"Um… I fell off that cliff…" she turned to a tall cliff on the other side of the river.

"Whoa, all the way from there?! Are you alright?!"

"I-I think so…" she tried to walk, but nearly fell, just barely catching herself.

"You're not alright. You need help. Get on my back."

"Excuse me?"

"Get on my back, and I'll carry you back to my owner's house. He'll be able to help."

"Um… okay…"

She got on my back, and held onto my neck. I started carefully walking back to the house. She was soaking wet, but for some reason I didn't mind.

"H-hey, I never got your name."

"My name's Flint. What's yours?"

"Hi, Flint. I'm Flare."

I nodded in response and kept walking.

When we got to the house, my owner helped Flare dry off, and set out an extra bowl of food for her. She sniffed it, as if to try and figure out what it was. She gave it a confused look and asked me a surprising question.

"What is this?"

"What do you mean? It's Pokémon food. Don't like it?"

"Oh, no, no, this is fine. It's just not the kind of food I'm used to." She gave it a small bite. Her eyes lit up and she quickly devoured the rest. I sweatdropped at how fast she ate it.

"Are you that hungry? You can have mine too if you want. I had a big lunch." I pushed my bowl towards her. She quickly finished that as well.

After dinner, my owner set up a nice, cozy blanket for Flare to sleep on. We settled down and tried to sleep. But Flare wouldn't stop shivering. I got up and looked at her.

"Hey, Flare." I said quietly. I have no idea why I asked this, but I did. "It's so cold tonight. Do you want to come over here and share the bed?" This really surprised her, and I almost could've sworn I saw her blush. Nevertheless, she came over to my bed and lay down. There wasn't enough room for us to keep separate, and when she rubbed against my back, for some reason I started blushing. After a few attempts, we decided the only way to get comfortable was to snuggle.

She was so warm, and somehow I couldn't stop blushing. As if that wasn't enough, she put her arms around me and I found myself doing the same. I smiled, and whispered.

"Good night, Flare."

"Good night, Flint."

And we fell asleep, paws on each other's backs.

End of Chapter

Me: So cute! So, Like? Hate? Please Review and tell me what you think. BraviaryGirl7 out.


	2. Chapter 2: Confession

Me: Alright, so hope the last chapter wasn't too bad. Uh, in this chapter, we'll be looking through Flare's eyes. Uh, please Read and please Review. And let's start chapter 2.

Chapter 2

(Flare's POV)

I woke up feeling much better than I did yesterday. And wherever this extra heat was coming from, it was helping immensely. I opened my eyes slightly and yawned.

"Hey, so, I take it you're awake? So, I don't suppose you'd mind getting off me."

My eyes snapped open, and I realized where the extra heat was coming from. I was lying right on top of Flint, snuggling him like a toy Teddiursa. I yelped in surprise and jumped right out of the bed.

"Oh, my Arceus! I am so sorry! I-I have no idea how that happened!"

"Hey, hey, relax. It's fine, I'm not mad. Come on, my owner will have breakfast ready."

"R-right."

I followed him to the kitchen, where there were two bowls of delicious Pokémon food. We both ate fairly quickly and had a few moments of awkward silence. Luckily, Flint soon broke the silence.

"So, uh, I'm guessing you're feeling a bit better?"

"Yeah, thanks to you, I am." I was sure I thought I saw him blush a bit for a second. I assumed I just imagined it and decided to keep the conversation going.

"So, have you lived here long?"

"Oh, yeah. Practically my whole life. I was given to my owner as an egg. Emerald City… will always be my home. But, I can't say I've seen you around here before. So, where are you from?"

"Uh… well… see, the thing is-

"Hey Flint! You sleeping in or something?"

I jumped in surprise from the sudden exclamation outside.

"Oh, hold that thought Flare. Coming!" He headed outside, and I followed him. Once outside, I noticed a Rattata, Houndour and Poochyena waiting on the steps.

"H-hello."

"Morning, ma'am. Who's this, Flint? Did you finally get yourself a girlfriend?" We both blushed, but our red fur helped to hide it.

"Oh, no, Poochyena, it's nothing like that. We barely know each other."

"I know. I was only teasing ya. So, you gonna introduce us?"

"Oh, yeah. Flare, this is Houndour, Rattata, and Poochyena. Everyone, this is Flare."

"Hey, Flare!" they all responded. My expression softened a bit.

"So, Flare gonna play with us too?"

"Well, actually, I was going to give her a tour of Emerald City. So I can't play today, sorry."

"That's okay; you can play with us tomorrow. See ya!" and they walked off.

"Bye. So, Flare, let me show you around town. And we can talk on the way." And we left to the city.

(In the City)

"Over here is the berry stand, and over there is the flower stand. And a bit farther up is a very nice restaurant; and if you know how to do the Dog Face, you can score some pretty good stuff from the customers." I giggled at that. I wanted to get to know him more, so I tried continuing our earlier conversation. I noticed that he had a brown collar around his neck, with pictures of white bones around it.

"I, uh, like your collar. It's very nice."

"Well, thank you. So, I probably shouldn't ask this, but are you a stray?"

"No, why do you ask?"

"Well, usually when humans adopt Pokémon, they give them collars to wear."

"What are you talking about? My collar's right here." But even as I was saying that, I put a paw on my neck and felt for my collar. But there was nothing but fur.

"Aahh! Where's my collar?! I know I had it just yesterday! No way, no way, no way! This can't be happening!" My ranting was suddenly stopped when Flint grabbed me by the shoulders and held me still.

"Flare, calm down and tell me what's wrong." I took a few deep breathes and calmed down a bit.

"Okay… Here it is… I don't live in or near Emerald City. I live in Crown City."

"You mean that really huge city in the middle of the region? You live _there_? But don't really fancy people live there?"

"Yes, the truth is I'm actually the daughter of the city's nobleman's Ninetales. I lived there until a few months ago… but I didn't run away if that's what you're thinking! See, what happened was I was just playing in the garden outside the mansion, when I noticed a break in the gate. I snuck out into the city while no one was watching, and I planned to come back before anyone noticed I was gone. But I ran into a bit of trouble… Some guy in a black shirt with a big, red R on it grabbed me and took me outside the city… and away from my home…" I started tearing up. "He took me to a lab, and I heard him talking to another human: 'Once that rich spoiled brat finds her precious Vulpix gone, we'll send her that ransom note. She'll have to pay a hefty price, if she ever wants to see her Vulpix alive! Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!' is what he said. I decided to escape while everyone went to sleep. I snuck out, but ever since then, I've been on the run from them. For so long, I ran, trying to escape them. I eventually made it here, and fell off that cliff into the river…"

"Wow… I'm so sorry… Do you miss your family?"

"Y-yes…" is all I could say before I burst into tears.

"Whoa, hey, it's alright. See, I'm here now." Is what he said before he hugged me and started stroking me, trying to comfort me. I returned the hug and buried my face in his chest. The hug lasted about a minute, and we ended it once I stopped crying.

"You alright now?"

"Yeah… Thanks…"

"So, tell you what, I'm going to help you get home."

"R-really?! You'd do that for me?!"

"Well, yeah. That's what friends are for." I tackled him with a hug, pinning him to the ground.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Then, without thinking, I kissed him on the cheek. Once I realized what I just did, I got off of him and apologized.

"Hey, it's okay." But, I could still see the blush he was trying to hide. I tried to forget what just happened as we made our way back to the house.

End of Chapter

Me: Aww. Still so cute! Again, my sincerest apologies if it seems like I'm copying SnivyPro18, but I just thought that scene was perfect! From now on, it'll be all me! So, another thing; can someone please tell me what this shipping is called? I've got some guesses but I don't know for sure. My top two guesses would have to be FireStone Shipping, or FirePup Shipping. Could someone please tell me the actual name for it? In a Review, of course. Please Review. BraviaryGirl7 out!


	3. Chapter 3: Run for your lives!

Me: So, this chapter will be back to Flint's POV. Thanks SunnySummer77 for the name of the shipping. So, another thing, a couple actually, first this fanfic will probably be considerably shorter than my Explorers of Light fanfic. It _is _a bit of a side series. Another thing, I know the names of almost all the shippings I've got planned; Heatwave Shipping (Vulpix and Growlithe), Blazing Aura Shipping (Vulpix and Riolu), Fire Fox Shipping (Vulpix and Flareon), Little Claws Shipping (Vulpix and Zorua), and Vixen Shipping (Vulpix and Eevee). The only one I don't know the name of is Vulpix and Houndour Shipping. Oh, and what's the name of Pikachu and Eevee shipping…. For future things. Yeah….. So, in this chapter things are going to start getting hectic. And now, here is Flint for a few quick questions!

Flint: Okay, hey, where's Flare?

Me: Resting for the chapter, but there are a few things people would like to know, I'm sure.

Flint: Alright, shoot.

Me: Alright, first, people would probably like to know how far Crown City is from Emerald City.

Flint: Uh, it's pretty far.

Me: So you've got your work cut out for you.

Flint: Yep.

Me: One more thing before we start, the viewers most likely want to know if you think Flare is cute.

Flint: *Blushes madly* W-what?! Alright, this interview is over!

Me: *snickers* Fair enough. I don't own Pokémon, so let's start chapter three!

Chapter 3

(Flint's POV)

We headed back to the house after… events. I was honestly quite taken aback by what Flare did earlier… But, I was mostly thinking about how I was going to get her home… but also about something else… When she kissed me, I felt even hotter than usual, and my heart raced for a bit…. I shrugged it off and kept walking. We made our way back home, had dinner, and went to sleep deciding to figure everything out in the morning.

…. Early in the morning, I got out of bed carefully so as not to wake Flare. I quietly snuck out of the house and made my way to the river outside of town where I met Flare. I sniffed around trying to catch a scent.

After a few minutes, I caught a whiff of perfume, the same as Flare's scent. I followed it, and found something seemed to be dangling on a root over the river. Upon closer inspection, I saw that it was a very fancy collar; it was bright gold, (SOLID gold from the smell) with perfectly carved round rubies patterned around it, and the tag was a Heart Scale with the name _Flare _carved beautifully into it. It was a very beautiful collar.

_Just like Flare. Wait, where did that come from? Ah, whatever. _The Heart Scale opened up like a locket and revealed a picture of a younger Flare and a Ninetales, which I figured to be her mother. I felt bad, she must miss her mom. I carefully grabbed the collar and made my way back to the house so no one would notice I was gone. I stashed the collar under my bed, and went back to sleep.

(The next morning)

I woke up and found Flare snuggling me again. I knew if I moved I would wake her up, so just like yesterday I held still until she woke up. As I waited, I watched her sleep. She looked so peaceful, I couldn't bear to wake her up, so not moving wasn't exactly a problem for me. When she finally woke up, we went and had breakfast, and went outside to tell my friends about our little plan.

"Huh? Do you even know how you're going to get to Crown City?"

"Well, I haven't exactly figured that part out yet…" The others did the classic anime fall…. thingy.

"Well, even so, good luck with getting there." I smiled.

"Thanks guys. So, today I was hoping you guys could help us come up with a plan or something to get Flare back home."

"Anything for a friend."

We all thought for a while about how I was going to get Flare home. But after hours of thinking and thinking, we couldn't come up with anything…. We went about gathering information from other Pokémon about ways to get to Crown City, and also about the guys who Poké-napped Flare in the first place. It was awhile before we found someone who knew about them; Poochyena's uncle, Mightyena.

"Yeah, I know about those guys. An organization that uses Pokémon for evil purposes; Team Rocket." He put on a scowl. "I should know… because they captured me once…. Took me to a lab, zapped me with weird devices I can't even begin to explain. Hah…. Ooh, if I could just get five minutes alone with the guys who did that to me… Grrrrrrr."

"Wow… that sounds awful. So, do you know how we can get to Crown City?"

"You came to the right place. If there's anyone who knows how to get somewhere, it's me. Now the way to get to Crown City is… Hold on… ! Grrrrrrr! They're coming!"

"What? Who's coming?" Flare looked scared.

"Team Rocket! They must have tracked Flare down!"

"N-no! I d-don't want to go b-back there!"

"Don't worry, I won't let that happen." I looked her in the eye and she seemed to calm down.

"Nephew, you and I will stall them, and you will run… run for your lives… Go, go!" I nodded and ran with Flare away from the den. We ran to the west entrance of the city. We thought we were safe, when a Houndoom leapt out of a shrub and attacked us! I growled at it, telling it to back off—without success.

I used Roar to send it flying into a building, stunning it for a moment. We ran while we could.

"I know a place we can go! It's a secret mountain right through a tunnel on the other side of the river where I found you!"

"R-river?!"

"You have to trust me on this!"

We came to the river, with the Houndoom still trailing behind us. I told Flare to get on my back. She did so, and I waded across the river. Nothing hurts a Fire Type more than water, but I endured it somehow. I led Flare into a bush with a secret passage under it. We left the Houndoom far behind as we ran through the tunnel, finally arriving at a great snowy mountain.

We decided to rest here until those Rocket jerks left Emerald City. I dug a den we could sleep in and told Flare to wait there while I gathered food. I found some Oran Berry bushes and brought back what I could. Flare had lit a campfire for us. We ate and set up beds and went to sleep, wondering what had happened to Poochyena.

(Back in Emerald City, Poochyena's POV)

I was fighting three Houndour, and losing! But I had to stall for my friends. Suddenly, one of the Houndour lunged at me and used Crunch on my right shoulder. I yelped in pain and staggered backwards. One of the humans threw a red and white ball at me. I found myself being sucked inside it, and after that, everything went black.

End of Chapter

Me: Not good. So, anyway, if my story starts to get sloppy, please tell me. I'd rather have someone tell me now than keep losing my edge and viewers. Please Review. BraviaryGirl7 out!


	4. Chapter 4: Aquaphobia

Me: Alright, hoping the last chapter wasn't too bad. It might have been a bit… lackluster, but this chapter will be better, promise! Back to Flare's point of view in this chapter. You'll find out why this chapter's called Aqua phobia in the middle probably. Credit for the lyrics in the song goes to Phantom Thief Suzume Usagi on YouTube.

Satoshi: Are you ever going to come up with your own lyrics?

Me: Hey, not your fanfic, out.

Satoshi: Fine. *leaves*

Courage: Nicely handled.

Me: Thanks. So please check this chapter out!

Chapter 4

(Flare's POV)

I woke up, feeling that familiar heat I knew too well by now. I knew what Flint's heat felt like, and I liked it. The question is, why? I mean, I really appreciated how much he was helping me, but I seemed to like him even more than normal. Could it be… no, no. That's impossible; I only just met him a few days ago. We're just friends… just friends… But… why do I sort of want us to be more than that? Did I just say that out loud?

Anyway... I woke up before Flint for once, and decided to do something nice for him for once and get breakfast ready. I went out of the den and looked around for the berry bushes. I soon found some, and returned to the den with as many berries as I could carry. When I got back to the den, I found myself suddenly pinned on the floor with a hug. I yelped in surprise as Flint started snuggling me as if he had been… really worried. Well, I did leave without telling him.

"Flare! Please don't scare me like that again!"

"Um… sorry… but I'm fine… Can we get up now?" He realized what he was doing and jumped off me, apologizing.

"It's alright. I got breakfast, if you're hungry." I turned to the pile of berries I had brought back. He smiled and we started eating until we were satisfied enough. I liked Oran Berries, but I liked the food I was used to… I started to miss my home again… my ears drooped down, and I was reminded of my mother… I had to wonder… Did she miss me? Was she worried about me? …Did she even know I was gone?

I looked up at Flint, tears in my eyes again. He asked,

"You okay, Flare?" I looked him in the eye and said in the loudest voice I could talk in without bursting into tears, (Which isn't very loud at all.)

"Flint… I want to go home…" I leaned forward, resting my head on his chest. He put a reassuring paw on my back and whispered,

"I'll make sure you get home. I promise. You know, this reminds me, I'd like to know a little more about your family." My sadness vanished, as I loved talking about my life.

"Well, as I said, I live in a mansion, all imported marble by the way, and it has at least 300 rooms! I've got my own room, with a big, fancy bed with the comfiest pillows. And then, there's the chef who cooks the food for both the humans, and the Pokémon. He cooks all kinds of fancy gourmet stuff. Mm…. There's a personal playroom for my mom and me, with so many fun toys! And the garden, second to none. Oh, the flowers they grow are so rare and beautiful; my owner had to get a specialist to find some of them in uncharted territory. Oh, and in my room, there's a skylight above the bed, and every night I have a perfect view of the stars. Oh, I've really been rambling on and on, haven't I?"

"No, I enjoyed hearing you talk about it. And, I promise you, I'm gonna get you home."

"Thanks Flint." I smiled, and he smiled back. His smile soon vanished though, as he started sniffing the air. He gasped, and said to me,

"They're coming! We have to run!" I gasped, and followed him out of the den as fast as I could. We ran higher up the mountain, and with every step, I could hear our pursuers getting closer. I was so scared. I didn't want to go back to that place! But I was feeling safer with Flint around.

We ran and ran, and eventually gave our pursuers the slip, but we both knew it wasn't for long.

"Flint… I don't want to go back to that place… but… you're risking so much for me… maybe… it would be best… if we just let those guys take me and get their 'ransom', whatever that is…" Flint looked shocked.

"Flare, how can you say such a thing?! I don't care how dangerous these guys are; I'm not going to let them take you, and I'm not going to let you give up!" He took a breath and calmed down a bit. "… You know that Pokémon can tell what's happening even while they're in the egg?"

"Yeah…" I nodded.

"Well, I never really knew my parents, but I remember a lullaby that my mom would sing every night. Ahem.

(Sung to Run Away, Fugitives in PMD 1 Red/Blue Rescue Team.)

_Through the fire_

_Through the snow_

_I'll go wherever you go_

_If it's high_

_If it's low_

_I will follow you you know_

_The Earth must keep turning_

_We will find the answer_

_I'll always be with you my friend_

_So let's keep singing now_

_Through the fire_

_Through the snow_

_I'll go wherever you go_

_If it's high_

_If it's low_

_I will follow you you know_

_The Earth must keep turning_

_We will find the answer_

_I'll always be with you my friend_

_So we're walking on_

_Forever onwards_

_So let's keep singing now_

_You must run_

_Find the truth_

_They will understand you know_

_We will make_

_This thing work_

_I'll be with you til the end_

_The Earth must keep turning_

_We will find the answer_

_I'll always be with you my friend_

_So we're moving on_

_Forging a new path_

_We must keep singing now_

_You must run_

_Find the truth_

_They will understand you know_

_We will make_

_This thing work_

_I'll be with you_

_Til_

_The_

_End…"_

That's when the song stopped. I was touched; he was willing to follow me that far?

"*sniff* Thank you Flint. Really, thank you." I place my head on his chest again, and although he seemed surprised, he relaxed and returned the gesture.

"No problem." We stayed like that for a minute. I felt my temperature rising for whatever reason; I didn't care. I just enjoyed being close to Flint. Wait, what? Oh, whatever. We just stayed still, enjoying each other's company. After a while, we both pulled back, a slight blush on our faces.

"Uh… w-we should probably get going." I nodded and we resumed walking.

We kept walking, going further and further up the mountain. Eventually, we came to a small river. It was small enough for both of us to jump across, but the thought of falling in still scared me so much…

We soon came to another river which was quite a bit larger than the first one, which made me shiver.

"Flint… I'm not that good an athlete… I probably can't make that jump…" Flint stood silent for a moment, then said,

"Then I'll make the jump for both of us. Get on my back." I nodded and climbed up on his back, holding onto his neck as he jumped over the river. I closed my eyes tightly and held on the best I could.

"Flare, you can open your eyes now." I opened my eyes, and saw that we were safely on the other side. I got off of his back and thanked him, and we resumed walking.

As we walked, I had time to think about… things. Why did I like being around Flint so much? Why did I feel so safe around him? Why did I trust him almost unconditionally? Why did I feel warm around him—well, warmer-? Is it… did I… like him? I mean, I like him as a friend, but… did I _like _him? As in… did I… love him? But… we just met… is that… even possible? My thoughts were suddenly interrupted when Flint placed a paw in front of me, stopping me.

I looked up, and saw the biggest river I had ever seen! Off in the distance, I heard our pursuers still after us! (Pardon me if I use that word too often.) I could easily see that if we could get to the other side somehow, we would be home free, so to speak. But, how could we get to the other side? The river was too wide to jump over, and if we tried to build a raft and float to the other side, we would easily drown in the rapids. This time I was really ready to call it quits, but then, Flint came up with one of the craziest plans I had ever heard.

"If you get on my back, and hold on as tight as you can, I'll swim across."

"Are you out of your mind?! You could drown!" And yet, when I looked at our other options, which weren't very many; either try to make that jump, let them capture us, or try and hide in the river, none of them were all that good, so Flint swimming for it seemed to be the best idea. I simply reluctantly nodded and got on his back. The mere thought of falling in made me shiver violently. Flint noticed, and gave me more of his reassuring words.

"Don't worry, it'll be fine. Just don't let go unless I say so. Okay?" I nodded and held on as tight as I could. Flint took a deep breath and took a step into the water. He kept taking small steps, until he couldn't touch the ground anymore, then he doggy paddled. He started out slow, and as the currents became more vigorous, he paddled harder and harder. Everything seemed to be going well.

But then, I heard the sound of a sphere-like attack charging up. I looked behind me, and saw a more than shocking scene. On the side of the river we started on, was one of the humans in the goofy costume, but the most shocking thing was the Pokémon he had with him. It was Poochyena charging up a Shadow Ball… I couldn't believe it, but this wasn't the time for that.

"Flint! Let's get out of here!" He got the message. He swam even faster, trying to get us to the other side safely before the attack was launched. But, he couldn't swim fast enough. We were only ¾ of the way to the other side, and the Shadow Ball was almost finished. We both knew we weren't going to make it in time.

"Flare… you have to jump when I say so… JUMP!"

I didn't want to, but my body reacted out of fear, and I jumped, barely making it to the other side. But just as I jumped, the Shadow Ball was released… and when I landed, it hit Flint… He stopped paddling, and didn't move…

"FLINT! GRRRRRRR…. FLAMETHROWER!" I released the most powerful Flamethrower I had ever used. It was like; all this rage filled me with a boatload of new firepower. Well, it was definitely strong enough to get that guy to get the message. He put Poochyena in a red and white ball in a flash of red light, and ran away, but somehow I knew it wasn't the last we'd seen of him. Oh, my Arceus! I had almost forgotten about Flint!

I ran after his floating motionless body, grabbed his neck before he drifted any further downstream, and pulled him out. I laid him on his back, and tried to get some kind of reaction out of him. After I pressed the water out of his stomach, I shook him a bit. No reaction. I shook him harder. Nothing. I was getting so scared; I tried using Flamethrower to get him to wake up. Negative, nada, nothing. I placed my head on his chest and tried to hear his pulse. It was going, but just barely.

Tears welled up in my eyes. I tried to remember what my mother taught me about situations like this. I remembered her mentioning something the humans called CPR. I put my paws on his stomach, and pressed my lips to his. Luckily, he was unconscious, so he didn't know about any of this. I applied pressure to his stomach, and breathed forcefully. I repeated this several times, and then used a move I had inherited from my mom, Heatwave. He started breathing, and his pulse speeded up. He was still unconscious, but he was alive! I had to save him. I couldn't lose him; I couldn't! Because I… I love him.

End of Chapter

Me: Wow, probably not what you guys were expecting, huh?

Everyone else: Not really.

Me: Well, that's what I was aiming for. I honestly just want to get this chapter done, so, BraviaryGirl7 out!


	5. Chapter 5: HeatWave

Me: Alright, you're probably all dying to know what happened to Flint, so, I don't own Pokémon. There, disclaimer done, now to the chapter!

Chapter 5

(Flint's POV)

I was surrounded by nothing but darkness. _Where am I? What is this place? All I remember is trying to keep Flare safe and—Oh, Flare! Is she alright?! _I tried to move, but I couldn't. It was like my body wasn't even there. _Grrr…. Come on! There has to be a way out of here! I have to know if Flare's okay! Come on… Come on…..! Grrrrrrr…. COME ON! …. No… no…. No, no, NO! _I tried and tried, but I couldn't move. _There's only one explanation for this; I'm… dead. But… what'll happen to Flare? How will she get home? …Is this really the end?_

_Only if you let it be the end._

_Ah! W-who's there?!_

_I'm afraid I can't tell you my name… however; I can tell you that I am a friend._

_Uh… okay… so, do you know what this place is?_

_Well, your guess wasn't too far off. This is the space in between the Pokémon world and the Afterlife._

_Um… are you a spirit? From the way you talk about it, it almost sounds like… you're not from this world._

_Very observant. _Too _observant. *sigh* I'll just cut to the chase. I have to ask; do you want to stay in your world?_

_Yes… I do!_

_Why? I need to know if you have a noble reason to want to stay._

_I want to help Flare get home. I promised. And… I want to keep her safe._

_Heh, heh. I see…_

_What's so funny?_

_Oh, it's nothing. It's just… the two of you remind me so much of two really good friends of mine. The two of them, they both really like each other, but for a long time, they didn't really know it._

_Wait… how is that similar to me and Flare exactly?_

… _You really haven't figured that out yet?_

_Figured what out?_

… _I see… If that's the case, I'm not saying anything about it. …Anyway… I'll ask you one more time. Do you truly want to return? _

_Yes, of course! _

_Very well!_

Suddenly, a flash of blinding light appeared, and I felt like I was speeding through air! As suddenly as the light and speed appeared, they disappeared just as quickly. And then, everything was still and quiet.

…

(Back in the physical world)

"Ugh…" I groaned as I slowly opened my eyes. I looked around, and saw I was in a den, with a pile of Oran Berries in one corner, and a fire flickering in the middle. I knew I had just had a really weird dream, but I couldn't quite remember what it was about… Oh, well. I guess if it was worth remembering, I'd remember it. I tried getting up, but felt a sharp jolt in the middle of my spine. I winced, and got up more slowly. I looked down and saw I was on a very well made straw bed. I tried walking around carefully, which seemed to be fine. Thinking about events from when I was last conscious, I started running questions through my mind. _How long have I been out? Who dug this den? Oh, what happened to Flare? _Right after that last question, I heard footsteps approaching the entrance to the den, saw a glimpse of red fur, and the next thing I knew, I was pinned on the ground after hearing one of the loudest shouts I had ever heard,

"_**YOU'RE AWAKE!"**_ That's when I realized it had to be Flare.

"Urgh… glad to see you too… but… just maybe… not so… tight…" She got off me, allowing me to get up… slowly. Once I had gotten up, she hugged me again. She was sobbing… uncontrollably… Had I really worried her that much? I hugged her back, trying to show her that everything was alright. Just knowing I had hurt her caused me so much pain… even worse than getting blasted with freezing water, if you can believe it. After about three minutes of more crying, she looked up at me with those big, sad eyes and said in a shaky voice,

"Please… don't ever scare me like that again."

…

"So, how long was I out?"

"Well… you were… in a coma… for two days…"

"What?! That long? *sigh* Okay, next question; did you dig this den yourself?" She giggled, and answered,

"Yes, I learned Dig from watching you use it. Do you like it?"

"I think you did great. Best den I've ever seen!" She giggled again, this time in slight embarrassment.

"Thanks, I was really worried it wasn't all that good." We both laughed for a few seconds, and then I moved to my next question.

"… I had a pretty weird dream just before I woke up, and now, even though I can't remember it, I don't think it was a dream. I think I was almost… well… dead. I think you might have done something to stop that. So, what was it exactly that you did?" She looked kind of nervous for a second, and fidgeted with her paws a bit.

"Oh, uh, a-all I did was get the water out of your stomach. That's all I did really. Uh, what else are you curious about?" She seemed in a hurry to change the subject. I shrugged it off and moved to the next question.

"Well, for one thing, why does my back hurt so much?"

"Um… well… you got hit by a Shadow Ball, directly."

"But who launched the Shadow Ball? I mean, obviously, it was that creepy guy's Pokémon, but what kind of Pokémon was it?"

"… Um…. See… the thing is… his Pokémon… was… Poochyena…" At this, I was too shocked for words. My best friend… It just couldn't be true…

"That… that just can't be true…" I was about to say more when Flare just plain broke down crying again. She hardly knew Poochyena—not like I did—and here she seemed more upset about it than I did.

"*sniff* I'm… I'm so sorry… It's my entire fault!" Now I really didn't know what to say.

"What the heck are you talking about? How could it possibly be your fault?" She looked up at me, face wet with tears, and told me,

"If I hadn't come here, that guy wouldn't have come here either, and Poochyena wouldn't be doing what that guy tells him, and you wouldn't have gotten hurt!" She was practically shouting now. I walked over to her, put my paw on her chin and said,

"Flare, look at me. I don't care what you say; it's not your fault. But, I _do _care that you _know_ it's not your fault." I closed my eyes and thought for a second, then opened them again and said, "Let's say you didn't come to Emerald City. What would you have done? Emerald City is the closest to Crown City; any other cities are at least 65 miles away. You'd have probably gotten captured before you got half-way to the town because all the running would have tired you out. And…" I lowered my voice to a whisper. "If you hadn't done that, if you hadn't snuck out in the first place, we never would have met. Believe me; I would go through all that again rather than never meeting you." Did I really just say that? And I could've sworn I saw her blush, but the red fur makes it hard to tell. She let out some more tears and hugged me around the neck. I was truly surprised, but I hugged back.

"Flint… I really don't know how to thank you. You're the best friend I've ever had. That's why I… I…" But she trailed off before saying what was on her mind.

"Yes? What is it?" She broke out of the embrace, and looked away, blushing slightly.

"Never mind; it's not important. Hey, how about dinner?" She gestured to the pile of Oran Berries in the corner. It was at that moment that my stomach started growling. I started blushing out of embarrassment, but soon, we both started laughing, and agreed dinner would probably be a good idea.

Flare cooked the Oran Berries with a Heatwave move; quite impressive, I guess she wanted something other than just raw food. I remembered that I knew Heatwave, so I lent her a paw, so to speak.

"You know Heatwave too? That's cool! I forgot, we can both learn that as an egg move." I picked up an Oran Berry and started to eat it. But then, she walked over to me, and grabbed half of the berry. It was awkward, but we both took half, and swallowed. But right after that, we were so close to each other. No, I mean like, we were so close, our lips almost touched. After a few moments of extreme awkwardness, Flare quickly pulled away. She looked even more embarrassed than I did. After a few more moments of awkwardness, she yawned and said,

"Well, I think it's time to go to bed." She walked over to a bed and lay down. I went and lay down on the bed next to it.

… After half an hour, I couldn't get to sleep. My mind was just moving around and around and around. No matter what I thought of, my mind wouldn't quiet down. Eventually, I gave up, just lying awake in bed. But, on the bright side, this gave me time to think about things. What about? Well, mainly about Poochyena… I just wish there was something, anything I could do. I thought and thought, trying to come up with a plan. I thought for hours, finally just falling asleep.

End of Chapter

Me: Alright so, first thing, everyone's probably wondering who in the world helped Flint. Well… hmm…. Alright, I'll give you one hint, that's all. One tiny hint! Alright, here it is; my second favorite show… is Yu-Gi-Oh! That's all I'm saying! Now, you'll find out more about this mysterious ally near the end of Explorers of Light. And believe me, the ending may surprise you. Alright, hopefully the fact that Flint woke up in this chapter makes up for the fact that this chapter is kind of short. And, I know you're going to love what's coming up next! BraviaryGirl7… out!


	6. Chapter 6: Final Stand

Me: Alright! Final Stand! I actually thought we'd never get this far into the story! So, I don't own Pokémon, so to the chapter!

Chapter 6

(Flare's POV)

I woke up along with Flint, who was very sleepy for some reason, as if he had been up half the night. Weird… We had breakfast and began to discuss what we were going to do. I knew Flint was upset about Poochyena, anyone could tell in two seconds that those two were best friends. Flint had done so much for me already, so I had to do everything I could do to help him. There had to be something we could do… But… There was something else bothering me… I completely choked when I wanted to tell Flint how I felt. Maybe… this wasn't the time for that… I guess, once we figure something out and get Poochyena back, and then I'll tell him. If I don't choke again… Hmm…. They're best friends… There's got to be some way-! Wait, that's it!

"Flint, I've got it! You and Poochyena are best friends, right?"

"Right…"

"Well, if that friendship's true, then you should be able to get through to him somehow!"

"Okay, but how?"

"Well, what's yours and Poochyena's favorite thing to do?"

"Um… Oh, Battle! That actually might work! But, even if I do manage to get through to him, he'll still be under that human's control."

"Then we break that control! My mom taught me that when a Pokémon is captured by a 'trainer', it goes into a red and white ball called a Poké Ball to confirm it belongs to that human. But, what if something were to happen to the ball?"

"Oh, then the Pokémon would be freed from the human's control. That's… that's brilliant! Flare, you are a genius!" He then hugged me. I blushed, but hugged him back. It was kind of strange; I'm usually the one hugging him. He soon realized what he was doing and pulled away.

"Sorry, it's just… *sigh* I just want my friend back."

"I understand, so let's start planning. If we just rush in blindly, everything will just come crashing down. My mom also taught me that."

"Got it. But… if we want to set a trap… how are we going to lure them in?"

"With live bait." He immediately got what I meant, and of course, protested.

"Oh, no. No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Absolutely not!"

"Flint, it's the only way we can lure him close enough. I'll be fine, I promise. Alright?" He eventually just gave in, and simply nodded. "Great, now here's what we do." I started to draw in the dirt with my paw. "We wait for them to come to this spot on the other side of the river. I stand on this spot, and pretend that I don't notice him. Meanwhile, you hide in these bushes over here. The guy tries to sneak up on me and grab me- believe me; I know he doesn't have any really high tech equipment—and once he's close enough, I spin around and Ember him, which should startle him enough to bring Poochyena out of his Poké Ball. He sics Poochyena on me and right at that moment, I jump back, and you jump out of the bushes and keep Poochyena distracted. The guy will focus on the battle, which will give me an opportunity to get the Poké Ball. I grab the ball, and then use a powerful attack to break it. By then, you should have gotten through to him, and we all attack that guy and show him not to be mean to Pokémon anymore. Then we all go back to Emerald City! Does that make sense?"

Flint looked at the drawing in the dirt, and nodded. We set everything up, and waited, but Flint insisted on being in the closer shrub to the spot. We waited for them, and after what felt like half an hour, I smelled them coming. I told Flint, and he ducked down. I turned around and just acted natural, namely grooming myself.

What? I was really dirty, and I don't like having dirty fur. What can I say? I come from a high society city. Well, it hopefully looked natural enough to fool that guy. I heard him coming, and then the footsteps stopped. I licked my paw, and rubbed behind my ear. _Just act natural. Don't let him see that you know he's there. _

Though, if I had to be totally honest, I'd have to say that I was pretty terrified. I mean, I heard him slowly advancing; it was like waiting to be hunted. But, I stood my ground, and when I heard him get close enough, I immediately turned about faced and Embered him right in the face! He screamed and covered his now charred face with his hands, and soon after reached for his belt and grabbed the shrunken ball, pushed the button, enlarging it, and tossed it in the air. It opened, and in a flash of red light, Poochyena came out of the ball snarling. By this time, I had jumped back, and Flint jumped forward, wrestling Poochyena to the ground.

As I suspected, the guy focused on the wrestling match and tried to give Poochyena commands; which Flint wasn't allowing him to carry out. While they were all distracted, I had to initiate Phase 3; Grab and Go! Even though Flint was the one doing the dangerous part, I still had to go through a little bit of danger myself. I mean, what if he noticed me when I was reaching for the ball? Nevertheless, I jumped up and grabbed it in my mouth, and ran away, hopefully before he noticed. I ran to the bushes, and barked to Flint, signaling to him that it was time to go into Phases 4 and 5. Phase 4: Smash and Grab; smash the ball and grab Poochyena. Phase 5: Run that guy off the mountain.

I put the ball down, pressed the button in the middle, which made it its normal size. But, which move to use, I didn't know. I thought about what move would be strong enough to break it, and looked over to Flint. He was still keeping Poochyena busy, but it looked like he couldn't keep it up for very much longer. I racked my brain, thinking as hard as I could. Then, my thinking suddenly came to an end when the guy noticed that I had the ball. Needless to say, he got pretty furious.

"I… did… not… come… all… this… way… just… to… be… humiliated… by a dumb Growlithe!" Oh, he did not! That just crossed the line and made me lose control! I felt my inner flame flare up immensely as I unleashed the most powerful Fire Blast I had ever used, almost twice as powerful as that Flamethrower three days ago! The ball glowed a bright red before shattering completely, and Flint managed to get Poochyena to snap out of his trance, got off him, and they both turned and growled at the guy.

I turned towards him, eyes glowing, and started up an attack I never thought I could use; Hex! Using Telepathy, I told the now terrified human in a distorted voice,

"Human, you have done many misdeeds to the noble race of Pokémon. For that, you must realize the severity of your crimes… by facing the hardships you heaved upon the innocent Pokémon you and your allies have hurt!" I unleashed the attack that should only be known by Ninetales, and a giant sphere of white light enveloped him, and I almost went blind for a second. I covered my eyes, and when I opened them again, the light was gone. And so was the human. In his place was… a Mightyena. We all stared in disbelief, and as the human turned Mightyena looked down at his new appearance, his eyes widened in shock and he looked like he was close to screaming as he looked back up at us. Then, Flint broke the silence.

"Wow, I did not see that coming." And Poochyena followed up,

"You ain't the only one." The now Mightyena had his sanity hanging by a shoestring now.

"Aaahh! T-talking Pokémon!" He turned to me. "You did this to me! Well, you haven't seen the last of me! Mark my words; I will get even!" And he ran off and out of sight. We all took a moment to recover from that… exhausting ordeal. I lay down and rested because I had used a lot of power. Flint ran over to me and sat down next to me.

"Way to go." I smiled and snuggled into his warm fur. I soon fell asleep like that.

End of Chapter

Me: So cute! So, bet you weren't expecting that, huh? Anyway, Like? Next Chapter, they'll all head back to Emerald City. I am really tired, even though it's only 8:30, so BraviaryGirl7 out.


	7. Chapter 7: Road to Home

Me: Alright! Road to Home! Let's get it on!

Chapter 7

(Flint's POV)

Flare was exhausted from apparently turning that mean guy into a Pokémon, as she was leaning against me, asleep. We stayed like that for a while, and after half an hour, she began to stir. She gently opened her eyes, looked up at me and smiled. We got up, and walked over to Poochyena, who was playing in the snow after getting bored from waiting for Flare to wake up. He saw that we were ready to go and we all began the long walk back to Emerald City.

We walked down the path of snow and ice, ready and willing to get back home. While we walked, I had to think about what happened back with the Mightyena.

"Flare, what came over you back there? How did you do that?" She shrugged.

"I don't know. I just… did it, I guess." I nodded; I wasn't going to pry an answer from her. All I wanted at the moment was to get home. We continued to walk down the mountain, until we came to the largest of the rivers on the mountain… with a fallen tree bridged over it… Must be how the former human got across. Oh, now how did I not think of that?

Anyway, we all crossed the tree bridge, and continued down the mountain. For the other two rivers, we just jumped across. Flare almost fell in, but I wasn't going to let that happen! I grabbed her paws and pulled her onto the other side safely. She thanked me, and we continued down. We eventually got off the mountain and came back to the river that was shallow enough to wade across, and quickly made it across.

We soon made back into town, and Poochyena reunited with his uncle, who was greatly relieved to see him unharmed. The rest of our friends were glad to see us too. Flare and I made our way back to my home, and my owner had apparently been really worried about me, because he hugged me, nearly choking me as we came through the doggie door.

"Aww, man, where have you been? You really scared me." After the hug, he set out two bowls of food for us, which we both ate fairly quickly as my owner caught up on reading the morning paper. He soon read some very surprising news out loud.

"Huh, would you look at that? The railroad in town is expanding all the way to Crown City, starting tomorrow." I nearly choked on the food in my mouth at that statement. That meant….

"Flare, do you know what this means? If we can get you on that train tomorrow, you can get home!" Her eyes lit up, and she grabbed my paws and we got on our hind legs and danced around the room a little bit. Soon after, she hugged me once again, and after we separated, she danced around the room a bit more before practically collapsing. I ran over to her, checking her for injuries.

"I'm okay. Just exhausted." That did make sense, after what happened on the mountain. I nodded, and much to her surprise, lifted her up on my back, and carried her to the bed room and placed her on the bed.

"Just get some rest; I'll work everything out, okay?" She nodded and laid her head down, and I began to work out what we were going to do to get Flare on the train. But… did that….. also mean…. I would never see her again? I almost instantly started tearing up at the mere thought of it. I shook my head. _No! She needs to go home! It's all for the best. _After shaking the thought off, I went back to thinking about how to do it.

…

By now, my owner had gone to bed, and I had finally worked out everything after two hours of thinking, and I had even worked out when I was going to give Flare her collar back. I was about to go to bed when I heard Flare start to stir.

"Flint… I can't sleep. Could you maybe… sing that song again?" I smiled, and took a deep breath and began to sing as I lay down with her.

"_Through the fire_

_Through the snow_

_I'll go wherever you go_

_If it's high_

_If it's low_

_I will follow you you know_

_The earth must keep turning_

_We will find the answer_

_I'll always be with you my friend_

_So let's keep singing now_

_Through the fire_

_Through the snow_

_I'll go wherever you go_

_If it's high_

_If it's low_

_I will follow you you know_

_The earth must keep turning_

_We will find the answer_

_I'll always be with you my friend_

_So we're walking on_

_Forever onwards_

_So let's keep singing now_

_You must run_

_Find the truth_

_They will understand you know_

_We will make_

_This thing work_

_I'll be with you til the end_

_The earth must keep turning_

_We will find the answer_

_I'll always be with you my friend_

_So we're moving on_

_Forging a new path_

_We must keep singing now_

_You must run_

_Find the truth_

_They will understand you know_

_We will make_

_This thing work_

_I'll be with you_

_Til_

_The _

_End…"_

Flare smiled and snuggled into my fur, and fell asleep. I tried to fall asleep, but the thought of never seeing her again returned to my mind, and it nearly tore my heart in two… but why? I kept thinking of that, and eventually fell asleep, the question still repeating in my head.

End of Chapter

Me: Still so cute! And a little sad too. But, you'll see how it goes in the next chapter. I know this Chapter's a bit short, but the next one will be longer, promise! BraviaryGirl7 out!


	8. Chapter 8: Make Your Move

Me: Okay, believe me; this chapter's called 'Make Your Move' for a good reason. Let's get it on!

Chapter 8

(Flare's POV)

I woke up in the bed with Flint, and we had breakfast and went to see how the others were doing before we headed to the train station. It was pretty early, so we had plenty of time before the station opened. For some reason, Flint told me to go and tell the others and meet him at the train station at noon. I shrugged and went to find them and tell them about the plan.

"Yeah, we already heard about that. Guess this means we won't be seeing you around anymore."

"Nope." Poochyena held out his paw which was balled up like a fist, and I paw bumped him. He gave me a smile and I smiled back. They invited me to play with them for a while, and I accepted, because even though I hadn't known them for very long, they were my friends too. So, I wanted to spend as much time with them as possible before I had to leave.

Besides, I needed something to help me take my mind off of…. The fact that…. After today…. I'll never see Flint again….. I haven't even told him how I felt yet… after today… I'll never have another chance… Why? Because….. I can't just force him to leave the only home he's ever known….. The place his owner lives…. The place his friends live…. I remember that time I was talking to him, and I asked him how long he had lived here… and he said, specifically, that Emerald City would always be his home…. Why make him leave just for my own, selfish reasons? And…. Besides…. What if he just sees me as a friend? What if he doesn't love me back? Ooh….. The very idea sends shivers down my spine, and hurts my heart more than is believable. But, getting back on track…

I have to say, playing rough-and-tumble games is not so bad at all. Chase is especially fun, once you know your way around. Tug-of-war is fun, obstacle courses are also fun, and even wrestling is fun once you get used to it. Eventually, Flint showed up, and joined in the fun and games for a while, until it was about one hour from high noon. I bid each of them farewell, and Flint and I made our way to the train station. Well, more like Flint led the way to the train station, and I followed behind him…. Never getting too far away from him.

When we reached the train station, we stayed low and listened to the humans talking.

"Alright, in ten minutes, this train will depart for Crown City, and from then on, that fancy pants city will not be cut off from the rest of the region. We're making history."

"Yeah. So, how about that game last night?" The humans walked off to get stuff ready and chat and stuff. After they left, we ran to the train, and I climbed in and sat at the entrance, faced Flint who was also sitting, and we shared another moment of awkward silence.

"So….. I guess this is it. In ten minutes, you're going home." I looked down and away for a second before saying in a very quiet voice,

"Yeah…" He looked concerned.

"Hey, you okay? You should be happy, right?"

"I know, but, how are they going to recognize me without my collar?" He put on a sly smile, and reached behind him into a bag I just now noticed he was carrying.

"You mean… this?" He pulled out… my collar!

"My collar! Thank you, thank you, thank you! Where did you find it?"

"Same place I met you. Here you go." He placed the collar around my neck, and again I felt that warm fuzzy feeling I felt every time he helped me. That problem was solved, but there was still the matter of….. saying goodbye. I went from happy to sad again.

"Hey, Flare, something wrong? Is the collar dirty?"

"Oh, no, it's fine, and I'm grateful, but… it's just… I'm going to miss you so much!" I hugged him and cried into his chest. He returned the hug, and in an effort to calm me down said,

"Hey, it'll be alright." Though, I could tell he was sad too. "Imagine when you get home, your owner will be so happy, she'll throw a huge party to celebrate. You'll get the royal treatment, and your mom will give you a big hug, and you'll finally be back home." I smiled; he always knew what to say. But I was still going to miss him. We pulled away from the hug, and I said,

"Alright, all that does sound great, but I'm still going to miss you."

"… I'll miss you too. And I'll never, ever forget you." I blushed, and I heard the conductor say,

"Train leaving for Crown City in five minutes!" I knew I didn't have much time; I had to finish saying goodbye soon.

"Flare, we don't have much time left."

"Flint…. I….. I….."

"Yes? What is it?"

"….I …I …I …" This wasn't getting me anywhere. Talking just made me choke on my own words. By now… I could see that there was only one way I could truly express my feelings. _Alright, Flare. It's now or never._ I looked around for humans, gathered my courage and I leaned forward and….

I kissed him on the lips. At first, I felt him tense up, but he didn't pull away and soon relaxed and… he returned it. That one moment… was one of the best moments of my entire life. The feeling I had, the only word that is fit to describe it is…. well, magical. It felt as if time stopped, and everything around us disappeared, it was just us two. And I wasn't going to end it a moment too soon. Wait, did I say that right? What I meant was, I wasn't going to let it end a moment too early. In other words, I wanted it to last as long as possible. The kiss continued, and so did the wonderful feeling, until I heard the train whistle blow. I knew enough about trains to know that when the whistle blows, the train is about to leave.

I reluctantly pulled away and ended the kiss, leaving Flint with a huge blush and a shocked expression on his face as the train started to move. I ran to a pile of boxes conveniently stacked up against a wall with a window, and climbed up and looked out the window and watched until I couldn't see Flint anymore.

_Goodbye, Flint. I'll always be grateful for everything. I'll never forget you. I love you._ Is what I thought before I climbed back down the boxes and curled up and thought about the words of that song one more time as I went to sleep.

…

(Two hours later)

I woke up with a yawn, feeling cold. I looked around and remembered that I was on a train that was taking me back home. I remembered what had happened back at the station, when I said goodbye to Flint…

"Crown City, next stop." Is what I heard from the speakers on the ceiling. That meant that… I was finally home. The train came to a stop, and I got out and instantly knew where I was, and immediately started running towards the big mansion.

When I got there, I watched my mom taking a walk in the gardens from behind the wall. I took a deep breath, and ran out to her. She gasped, and started tearing up.

"Flare, is it really you?" I nodded, as I couldn't say anything because I was about to cry as well. She let some tears escape before she hugged me tightly while crying. I hugged her back and cried; I had missed her so much.

"Oh, honey, please don't scare me like that again." I let out some more tears as I snuggled deeper into her fur.

End of Chapter

Me: Okay, I swear this isn't the end of the fanfic, so please don't kill me! There are still four chapters left, so the story isn't over yet. Alright, so that was my first big romance scene, hope it was okay. You'll find out what's happened to Flint in the next chapter, okay? Please Review! BraviaryGirl7 out!


	9. Chapter 9: Flint's Decision

Me: Okay, I said it wasn't the end of the fanfic, and we're back to Flint's POV in this chapter, so please Read and Review. Let's get it on! I really like that phrase.

Chapter 9

(Back at the house, Flint's POV)

Oh, hi. You're still reading? I'm surprised, because even _I_ don't care what happened to Flint the _idiot_! That's right, I'm an idiot. Why? Because all this time, and I didn't realize that Flare loved me! Why didn't I see it before?! ….. There's only one reason this bothers me so much. … I… I love her too. There, I said it. And I didn't even realize until…. she kissed me. If I didn't love her, I wouldn't have kissed her back. If I didn't love her, I wouldn't have felt the way I did during that moment; my mind and heart raced, and I felt such a good feeling that I didn't want it to end, it felt like it lasted forever. But, I should have seen it much sooner! At the moment, I was heading back home very slowly. I was so angry at myself, I felt like screaming! ….So I did.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHHH!" I could have probably been heard from anywhere in the city, but I didn't care! My friends came running to help, as if I was in trouble.

"Flint, what's wrong?"

"Just leave me alone."

"Does it maybe have anything to do with…. what happened at the train station?" My eyes widened, and I blushed a lot.

"Were you spying on us, Rattata?"

"No, but I'm not the only Rattata in this town, and if there's one thing Rattata love to do, it's gossip." Oh, yeah. I sighed.

"Well, it is because of that, okay? I am such an idiot. …I'm just going to go home, alright?"

"Sure thing, pal." They walked off and I continued to walk home. My owner gave me dinner, but I wasn't too hungry at all. I just pushed the food bowl away and started sulking. My owner noticed.

"Flint, something wrong?" I just groaned and turned away. He shrugged and got back to watching TV. I kept sulking on the floor, and thinking about Flare until it was time for bed. And for the next few weeks, the same thing happened every night at bed time. Not to mention not eating all that much.

In bed, every night, I just lay not able to fall asleep, feeling sorry for myself and being mad at my dumbness. After what seemed like hours and hours of sulking, I just suddenly started crying. Now that I knew about how she felt about me, and how I felt about her, she was all I could think about. When I closed my eyes, all I could see was her and all the times we shared, and when I opened my eyes, all I could think about was how much I missed her, and how much I was going to miss her.

Preferring memories over pain, I closed my eyes again. I tried to relax as the memories came flooding back, and soon it was just one memory at a time. The first thing I saw was the moment I met her, when I was walking along the river and heard her drowning in the river. I remembered that I had saved her, and carried her home on my back, and my owner helped her. At dinner, she devoured every bit of her food, and she couldn't get warm when it was time for bed, so I let her sleep with me in my bed, and we even snuggled.

The next thing I saw was when I was showing her around the town, and she told me about how she got to Emerald City, and I promised to get her home. I remembered how grateful she was, even before I did anything, and even kissed me on the cheek.

Keeping my eyes closed, I gently placed a paw on my cheek, as the next memory came into view. It was when I was trying to find out how I was going to get her home, and we first ran into those Rocket Jerks. I remember carrying her on my back as I waded across the river, and leading her up the mountain to get away from them. I dug a den for us, and we both pitched in making the kind of hide out.

The next memory was when I woke up in the den, and found that Flare wasn't in the den with me, and got so worried, until I heard her coming in, carrying some Oran Berries on a leaf, and I hugged her to the ground, much to her surprise. After the awkward moment, I smelled the Jerks coming, so we ran, and when we were far enough away, I sang her my song. But not long after that, we came to the rivers, and when I got hit by that Shadow Ball, I don't quite remember what happened after that.

The next memory was of waking up and getting tackled to the ground by Flare, and she told me what happened while I was out, and I remembered how shocked I was when she told me who launched that Shadow Ball. I remember that she got so upset with herself, thinking it was all her fault, I remember that I managed to calm her down, I remember being worried about her wanting to be the bait for the trap the next day, I remembered how amazed I was when she did what she did.

I remembered when we headed back to Emerald City after everything was said and done. I remembered finding out how we were going to get her home. I remembered playing with her before heading to the train station. I remembered how happy she was when I gave her the collar back. I remembered that she kissed me right before the train started to move.

But…..most of all….. I remembered her. I remembered her smile. I remembered her laugh. I remembered… how much I cared about her. I remembered… how much I loved her. One night, I opened my eyes and started crying again. I missed her so much. I love her. But what am I supposed to do? I can't just run away… I eventually heard someone talking to me.

"Hey, buddy, what's wrong?" It was my owner. Had I woken him up? I just whined in response. "It's about that Vulpix isn't it?" I groaned again. "Look, buddy, I know you can't talk in the same language as me, but I know you. And I know you can understand me." He paused for a second before talking again. "You really seemed to like that Vulpix. …Did you maybe…. Love her?" In the dark, he wasn't able to see it, but I rolled my eyes. I simply barked quietly in response. "….You miss her, don't you?" I remained silent. "…" He stayed quiet for a while, until eventually, he got out of bed and crouched down near me. "….. Buddy, I can tell you want to be with her, am I right? But, you don't want to leave here, do you? …..Look. It's not my right to control your life." My eyes widened a bit. He looked me in the eye, and even though it was dark, I could tell he was about to cry. "…. Whatever you decide, I'll be okay with it." I started tearing up too. I hugged him and whined, and he stroked me. I could tell what he was doing now. He was letting me go. "I'll miss you, pal." I broke away from the hug. He petted my head one last time, and said, "Go get her, pal." I barked and cast him one last glance and wagged my tail before running out the doggy door.

I found my friends and told them about what I was going to do. They were sad, but they didn't try to stop me. I bid them farewell, and went to the train station. I snuck onto the next train going to Crown City, and waited for what seemed like half an hour before falling asleep. Normally though, I'm a light sleeper, so I'd be able to tell when the train stopped, so I didn't worry. I could finally get to sleep, with the thought of seeing Flare again repeating again and again, allowing most of the pain to go away.

End of Chapter

Me: Aww, giving up his old life to be with the one he loves! Just like a fairy tale! Well, this is still not the end of the story; still three chapters left! Please Review! BraviaryGirl7 out!


	10. Chapter 10: It Must Be Love

Me: Alright, no spoilers in this little author's note, just going to say that we're back to Flare's POV in this chapter. Let's get it on!

Chapter 10

(Flare's POV)

It had been a few weeks since I had made it home and reunited with my mom and my owner. As Flint guessed, my owner threw a big party to celebrate, it was really more like a ball, and everyone in the city showed up, and there was fancy food (oh how I've missed it) and ballroom dancing, and my owner even got the fine china out. Seems like she was going a bit overboard, I know, but it was a really nice gesture, and it was really fun. I had also told my mom about everything that had happened while I was away. I told her about the Rocket Jerks, about escaping from the lab, about falling in the river, about being rescued, meeting Flint, him promising to help me, running from the scary guys up the mountain, turning that guy into a Pokémon, and heading back to Emerald City. I also told her about the train station, and everything I liked about Flint. I told her how sweet he was, how generous he was, and yes, even how cute he was. Yes, I told her that I fell in love with him. She was completely fine with it though, but felt bad for me leaving him. But, not bad enough to let me go back to Emerald City. Which… in a way was fine with me, because I was home. But… it just felt so empty without Flint…

Luckily, I had plenty of things to keep me busy. I had to catch up on a lot of things I had to do as daughter of the Ninetales in charge of all the Pokémon in the city. (Don't ask; it's a really complicated monarchy. Let's just say the humans don't know about half of what goes on around here.) After so long of catching up with 'royal duties', like learning about stuff and things like that, my mom told me it was time to get me a guard. I know what you're thinking, and yes, that is both cliché and overprotective, but what am I gonna do? She's my mom, and moms know best, and she's just worried about my safety. So, my mom sent out an announcement to tough Pokémon in the city. As expected, a lot of Pokémon lined up at my mom's secret office (all males) and my mom and I interviewed them. After like a ton of rejects, the last one was a Nuzleaf, who seemed to want to have me as a girlfriend. I just burned his face. He was knocked out and dragged out of the office. None of these guys were good enough; most of them just wanted the job because of all the 'perks'. …No one would make a better guard than….. Flint…. I started feeling sad again…. until I heard the strangest thing. I could, very faintly, hear what seemed to be someone… singing.

"_Through the fire" _No.

"_Through the snow" _It couldn't be.

"_I'll go wherever you go." _I started walking towards the sound, trying to hear it better.

"_If it's high_

_If it's low" _I'm almost sure my mom asked me where I was going, but I didn't hear it.

"_I will follow you you know" _At the moment, my only focus was the voice that was singing the song.

"_The earth must keep turning_

_We will find the answer_

_I'll always be with you my friend" _I kept following the sound, but my legs seemed to move on their own.

"_So let's keep singing now_

_Through the fire_

_Through the snow_

_I'll go wherever you go_

_If it's high_

_If it's low_

_I will follow you you know_

_The earth must keep turning_

_We will find the answer_

_I'll always be with you my friend_

_So we're walking on_

_Forever onwards" _I had to find that voice's owner.

"_So let's keep singing now" _With each verse, the voice got louder, which seemed to indicate that it was moving too. I kept walking, because I had an idea who it was, but I wouldn't be able to believe it until I saw it.

"_You must run_

_Find the truth_

_They will understand you know" _Who did think it was, you ask?

"_We will make_

_This thing work_

_I'll be with you til the end" _Who else?

"_The earth must keep turning_

_We will find the answer_

_I'll always be with you my friend_

_So we're moving on_

_Forging a new path" _The one and only perfect guard.

"_We must keep singing now_

_You must run_

_Find the truth_

_They will understand you know" _Now, the voice sounded like it was right around the corner.

"_We will make _

_This thing work" _I walked a bit farther, and saw the one guy I thought I'd never see again. Flint.

"_I'll be with you_

_Til_

_The _

_End…" _He saw me, and I ran up and hugged him and tackled him to the ground. I just couldn't believe it; had he actually followed me all the way here?

"Flint, what are you doing here?!"

"What else? I'm going to apply for the job as your guard." This surprised and excited me at the same time. I looked around and realized that I had walked all the way to the foyer. I also realized that my mom had followed me.

"Flare, what is going—oh, who's this?" She gestured to Flint.

"Oh, this is the guy I told you about, mom. This is Flint!" I said getting off of him.

"Nice to meet you, Mrs….." I had never told him my last name. I whispered into his ear. "Rokon." My mom smiled at him.

"Nice to meet you too, Flint. My daughter told me all about you. But, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to apply for the job of being Flare's guard." My mom turned to me, expecting an answer.

"Well, sweetie? What do you think? Is he good enough?" She didn't even need to ask.

"Of course, mom." She nodded, and went to go back to doing stuff, while I gave Flint a tour of the mansion. I showed him the kitchen, the dining room, the ball room, the guest room, and even the bathroom. The last stop was my room.

"Whoa! Talk about first class! You have a balcony in your room?" While he looked around, I put a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door and closed and locked it so no one could come in. I put a serious look on my face, and walked up to Flint. There was something I needed to know.

"Flint, can I talk to you for a moment?" He turned to me, with a wide smile on his face, acting as if nothing strange was going on.

"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" I looked him in the eye, and his smile disappeared and his expression turned into a slightly scared one. "Uh… Did I do something wrong?" I sighed.

"No, it's just… Why did you come here?"

"Didn't I already say that?"

"That's not what I'm talking about! Your whole life, back in Emerald City, your friends, your owner, you left it all behind, and I doubt it was all just to protect me! Flint… Why did you _really_ do it?" He closed his eyes and smiled, and even chuckled a bit. When he opened his eyes, he gently put his paw on the back of my head and said,

"I'll show you why." Then, he leaned in and kissed me! My eyes widened in shock, and my ears went straight up, but I also immediately felt that wonderful sensation again, and kissed back, not that the paw on the back of my head was giving me much of a choice. My heart raced, and the kiss was the only thing one my mind, every other thought vanished. Soon, he pulled away and looked me in the eye. "I love you." At that moment, it seemed as if all weight that had kept me from fully enjoying reuniting with my mom, being back home, even seeing Flint again, had been lifted. A wide smile spread on my face before I said,

"I love you, too." He returned the smile, and I hugged him, as I had really missed snuggling into his warm fur. We stayed in that position for a few minutes before I looked up at him and we locked eyes. We both smiled at each other for a while.

After staying like that for a while, we both slowly leaned toward each other, and closed our eyes as our lips met once more in a passionate kiss. That was the best moment of my life, the moment I knew for absolute certain that nothing was keeping me and the one I loved from being together anymore. I was finally truly happy again; even happier than before I met him, because now… my life was complete.

End of Chapter

Me: Still not the end yet! Still one chapter and the epilogue to go! So, please Review, and tell me which of my areas in the romance scenes still need improving. BraviaryGirl7 out!


	11. Chapter 11: The Big Question

Me: Okay, second to last chapter! I'm not going to spoil anything, just going to mention that in this chapter, Flint, after living with Flare for a few months, is going to ask…. Uh, let's just call it 'The Big Question'. Let's get it on!

Chapter 11

(Flint's POV)

I had been living with Flare for a few months, and we had been a couple, with her mom's approval, luckily. Honestly, I was a little embarrassed that Flare told her mom all about me, but it's fine.

I woke up in the comfy bed, snuggling with Flare. I gently prodded her with my paw, and whispered into her ear.

"Flare, come on, sweetie, it's time to wake up." She groaned and yawned before slowly opening her eyes. She looked up at me, and smiled as she got up and stretched. "Good morning, sunshine."

"Morning, dear." She gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, and we headed into the dining room for breakfast. Just like Flare had said, gourmet food is much better than regular Pokémon food. We finished breakfast, and I thought about what was going to that day. Flare noticed I was in deep thought, and became concerned. "Flint, is something wrong?" I was snapped out of my thoughts, turned to her, and put on a forced smile.

"N-nothing, nothing at all. Everything's fine." She gave a confused grunt, but it soon disappeared, leaving a smile. We soon heard Flare's mom calling her.

"Flare, come here for a second please!"

"Got to go, see you later?" I nodded, and she nuzzled me before walking off to find her mom. Yep, this life was pretty much perfect. And after this day, if all went well, it would be more perfect than ever. Because… I was going to ask Flare to be my mate. That's right, you can go ahead and call it rash, I don't care. I think it's clear to a Pokémon when they know they're in love.

I thought about how I was going to ask for a while. I decided to take a walk in the garden, as I was always able to think better while walking in a calm, peaceful environment. Flare had been right about the garden; it was truly second to none. The flowers were very beautiful, and in all kinds of shapes and colors; orange and yellow, and the most beautiful were the red ones; the fire lilies, they looked so pretty as the sun reflected off the petals and they shone like fire in the light. They were also Flare's favorite flowers in the garden. That also gave me an idea. I gently picked one from the flower bed, and headed back into the mansion.

I walked through the foyer and all the way back to the kitchen and waited for about ten minutes before hearing running footsteps. I turned to the door and saw Flare coming in. She walked up to me and said,

"My mom has something important to talk to us both about in my room, come on." I nodded, and followed her to her room, where her mom was waiting. We both sat down, and listened to what she had to say.

"Flare, the time has finally come for you to continue the legacy of Crown City's Ninetales. You have grown to the age where you have become ready to use…. this." She pulled out a red and orange stone, which had a sort of fire emblem in the middle. My eyes widened as I realized that it was a rare Fire Stone! "You see, I won't be around forever, so I'm going to need you to continue my reign. Unfortunately, we only have one, but I have heard of this story where two Pokémon—a Vulpix and an Eevee—used the same Fire Stone to evolve at the same time. Of course, I didn't hear the first part of the story, but the method sounded like it would work. (A/N, Just in case you're wondering, yes, I am referring to War of The Plates 2.) So, if you would both like to evolve, please keep that in mind. I'll leave you to it then." With that, she left, leaving the two of us alone with the Fire Stone. Flare turned to me, a very excited expression on her face.

"Flint, I'm so excited! I'm finally going to evolve!" She jumped a little, and we both walked up to the Fire Stone, we sat on opposite sides of the stone. "What my mom was talking about, if we both touch it at the same time, we'll both be able to evolve at the same time!" When she noticed my neutral reaction, she grew concerned. "Don't you want to evolve?" I didn't mean to worry her; my mind was just focused on other things.

"Of course I do. Sorry, I've just been thinking about stuff." Her concern vanished, and she smiled at me. She started reaching for the stone, and I grabbed her paw and held it for a second. I opened my mouth to try to ask about things, but no words came out. Instead, I held her paw as we both reached for the stone, thinking if my strength increased, so would my courage, and as soon as our paws touched the jagged yet smooth surface of the stone, our bodies started glowing, and started growing taller, and so much power surged through my body! When the sensation stopped, I looked down at my body and let go of Flare's paw. I was at least a few feet taller, and instead of having two claws, my paw was almost exactly like Flare's new golden shiny fur and excellently groomed fur. Needless to say, she looked so beautiful. We finished looking our new bodies over, and Flare asked me a question I knew she was going to ask.

"How- how do I look?" I smiled, and said,

"Still as beautiful as ever." She giggled, and replied,

"Thanks, and look at you, handsome." I smiled and blushed a bit at her complement. My smile soon disappeared, however, and I looked her in the eye.

"Flare, I need to ask something very important." She looked curious, and gestured her paw in a way that said 'go on'. I took a deep breath, and resumed talking. My paw nervously twiddled with the fire lily behind my back as I struggled to find the right words. "W-well, uh, it's like this. I- I know I've only known you for a few months, but, well, I believe that Pokémon are in tune with their feelings enough to know when they're in love."

"Flint… where are you going with this?" I gulped; it was time now. I held out the fire lily in front of her, gathered all my courage and said,

"Flare, will you be my mate?" For a while, she was silent, and then looked down and closed her eyes. A few more moments of silence, and I felt my heart drop down to my stomach. Did this mean…. She was saying no? My ears drooped down, and my paw holding the flower shook. "Um….. Flare?" Did I ruin everything with that question? Did I wreck my one chance and loose her forever? I was really starting to think things like that… until Flare suddenly lunged forward and grabbed my shoulders, pinning me to the ground. Gently lying down on top of me, she leaned in close, and all she said was,

"You know, it's about time you asked." Before she leaned forward the rest of the way, and locked me into a passionate kiss. I felt our tongues touch, and her grip on my shoulders tightened. I soon found myself dropping the flower, and gently wrapping my arms around her. I closed my eyes and let the wonderful sensation come flooding back. I felt her let go of my shoulders, and her paws brushed against my chest fur, and slowly made their way down my back. We rolled over a bit, until we were both in arms, lying on the floor. I heard a moan come from her, which increased the amazing feeling even more. After a while, we both pulled away, gasping for air. I looked into her eyes, and said,

"Does… that mean… the answer is yes?" She rolled her eyes and smiled before saying,

"Of course the answer is yes, silly. If this is what you've been getting all nervous about, I wish you had known that it was nothing at all to be nervous about. Do you know why?" I knew it was a rhetorical question, but I waited for the answer simply because I loved hearing those words. "It's because I love you, too." I smiled, and said,

"Sorry for getting nervous, but have you ever heard of any guy who hasn't been nervous about proposing? And that includes humans _and_ Pokémon."

"Alright, but I would expect you to trust that we love each other the same." Even now, I have to admit, she had a good point.

"Sorry again, but can you really blame me?" She looked at the ceiling for a minute before saying,

"Hmm…. No." Even if I had wanted to say more, it was lost as she pulled me in for another kiss. That settled it—I was truly where I belonged. With Flare, the one I loved. I would always miss the life I left behind, but even now, I feel that sacrifice was worth it for what I had; for what I have. I was truly happy, and still am.

End of Chapter

Me: Aww. I can't help the 'awws' because it's just so darn cute! Anyway, still the epilogue to go. Please Review, and tell me how that romance scene was; I've really been trying to improve. BraviaryGirl7 out!


	12. Epilogue

Epilogue

(A few months after the last chapter, 3rd person's POV)

In a city called Crown City, a city bustling with all kinds of people and Pokémon, a very large mansion could be seen on the outskirts. The mansion was a home to the nobleman, (or woman in this case) an older Ninetales, an Arcanine, and a younger Ninetales. And soon, it would be home to one more. Outside the room of the younger Ninetales, an Arcanine was pacing back and forth nervously, while the older Ninetales was trying unsuccessfully to calm him down, even though, underneath her calm expression, she was quite nervous too. The pacing Arcanine kept muttering the same words over and over again.

"Any minute now, any minute." The older Ninetales spoke.

"Flint, please try to relax. It'll all be fine. Just calm down."

"Calm down?! How do you expect me to calm down?! It's going to happen any minute; no, any _second_ now!" The Arcanine was about to explode from anticipation, before the older Ninetales grabbed him by the shoulders and said,

"Flint. Calm. Down." The Arcanine shook his head, trying to get a grip, and the Ninetales released him, only for him to get back to his pacing and ranting. The Ninetales sighed, and simply slapped him across his face, making him fall to the floor.

"Oww…. But thanks, I guess I needed and deserved that." He calmed down a bit and lay down back on the floor. However, even though he had stopped his ranting and pacing, he was still slightly fidgeting with his paws a little. The two waited for what seemed like an eternity of nervous anticipation, (while, in reality, it was only five minutes) until they heard a call from inside the room.

"It's happening!" The two ran into the room, to see a younger Ninetales clutching a red object, with the Vulpix tail pattern around it; an egg. An egg that was glowing. An egg that was hatching. The egg was that of the Arcanine named Flint and the younger Ninetales named Flare, a pair of mates so madly in love, you would have to be heartless not to think they were cute. Flint walked over to his mate, and licked her cheek as the egg glowed brighter and brighter, until it began to take a new shape, and when the glowing stopped, in the place the egg used to be, a tiny Vulpix with a single tail as white as snow was resting in the arms of the younger Ninetales. Flare's eyes lit up, and a wide smile spread across her face as the baby Vulpix snuggled into her fur.

"It's a girl." She said quietly, as to not startle the newborn Vulpix. Her mate whispered quietly in her ear,

"What are we going to name her?" Almost immediately after he said that, the tiny Vulpix opened her eyes and looked up at her parents, which revealed her eyes to be a very bright red, almost like rubies.

"How about… Ruby?" Flint smiled, and said,

"It's perfect. Ruby it is."

The End

Me: Or is it? Nah, just kidding, I'll hopefully get the first chapter of the second one up soon. Please Review! BraviaryGirl7 out!


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